Plus: Praise for Guv’s ex-aide Charles O’Byrne
N.Y. Assembly member would be the first openly gay U.S. Senator.
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By MICKEY WEEMS
Monday, September 25, 2006
ONE OF OUR closest friends had invited her father to visit. But she had to de-gay her house because she’s not out to him yet. So she asked us to take care of her cherished collection of the first and second seasons of Showtime’s “The L Word.”
Figuring that we owed it to our lesbian sisters to see what the buzz was all about, we dutifully watched the first show. It did not begin as we expected; television’s first lesbian soap opera perversely opens with a handsome, buffed man named Tim. OK, that got our attention.
From there, the story line got better and better, along with shots of Tim shirtless while he was making love to his girlfriend. Besides Tim, some really cute guys are featured regularly. But that’s not why we watch the show. I bring up the hot boys only as incentive for those gay men who are dubious about giving “The L Word” a chance. I know my people.
Truthfully, I was never really interested in watching it myself. I did not expect a show about trendy, beautiful lesbians in L.A. to affect me the way it has.
Lesbian characters are now my role models. I want to be Bette when I grow up. In moments of crisis, I ask myself, “What would Shane do?” and compare my own moral dark nights of the soul with Jenny’s demons.
It has changed my behavior. I shamelessly use lines from the show in common conversation, like “Step off, bitch!” I am seething with nipple confidence. But I have absolutely no Bush confidence at all.
For you gay men who don’t have a clue what I’m talking about, do yourselves a favor and immerse yourselves in the first season. Chances are you’ll be hooked. It might also undermine whatever prejudices you may have against lesbians, our best allies in the world.
“THE L WORD” HAS taught me that lesbians and gay men have a lot in common. We tend to be more adept at reading between the lines than most straight people. Both lesbians and gay men have, unfortunately, made personal drama a fine art. And, if the show is correct, some lesbians are almost as promiscuous as certain gay men.
If I were to describe the message of the show, I’d have to use a bunch of words, like failure, betrayal and salvation. The faults of the characters are given to us without filter, apologies, or lecture. We judge them according to our own lives, our own recollections of when we deeply hurt, and have been deeply hurt by, those we love. In my life, “The L Word” helps me become a less judgmental and more ethical human being.
And the soundtrack is stunning.
I have to overlook certain things, however, like the prevalence of lipstick lesbian characters. Most of them could pass for straight. Watching the show, you might assume that this is how lesbians should look.
As seems to be par for the course, most of the characters are played by straight actresses, as if there aren’t enough lesbian actresses. But this could be due to Hollywood homophobia. Beautiful, straight-acting lesbian actresses may not want people to know that they are lesbians for fear of jeopardizing their careers.
AND THERE’S THE issue of what passes for beauty. Would the characters in “The L Word” accept a woman whose beauty is found within her in their tight little group? Could a plain-looking flannel grrrl ever make the grade? There’s a whiff of body fascism in the air. But, to be fair, most movies and TV shows feature inordinate numbers of beautiful people for the simple fact that we like to look at them.
After watching two seasons, I feel like I’m in a secret club. I can easily have an hour-long conversation about the show with many of my lesbian friends. And truthfully, I’d much rather talk about “L Word” drama than “Project Runway” or, God forbid, “American Idol.”
My own gay family (two lesbians, two gay male couples, a newborn baby, and a husky) now watches “The L Word” every Sunday night. We only started a few weeks ago, so we are still in the first season. Eventually, we’ll catch up to the current season, but I imagine we’ll wait until the upcoming fourth season is over so that we can watch it on DVD together.
It helps us bond.
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